


sunset rider

by GalacticGoldfish



Category: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: Anger, Angst, Animal Abuse, Animal Death, Cowboys, Crying, Friends to Lovers, Future Character Death, Heartache, M/M, Men Crying, Mutual Pining, Romance, Western
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2019-09-19 16:28:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17005110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticGoldfish/pseuds/GalacticGoldfish
Summary: Arthur Morgan isn't a young buck running through his first spring but that doesn't mean he doesn't get stirrings of feelings every now and then. Unfortunately those feelings seem to be for a bumbling photographer that doesn't have any business getting mixed up with an outlaw like himself and with Micah sniffing around there's no telling what could happen.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> they're gay harold. im so tired of seeing people call the romance between albert & arthur a bromance i've decided to take matters into my own grimy hands.

Arthur Morgan wasn't a man of many words. He didn't feel like he needed a lot to get his point across whatever the situation might be. After all Dutch was one of the only men he knew that spoke a lot and people would still bother to listen to. His ramblings were for the good of all of their future after all. So when he heard an Albert Mason ramble on and on about the wildlife and how his pictures were preserving the future, he was kind of surprised that he listened. For all fairness sake Arthur didn't give one rat's ass about saving the coyotes or the wolves or those damned alligators. But he did give a damn about hearing Albert ramble on and on about how it was all important.

There was something passionate about the way the man spoke that stirred in him. If a man was passionate about something then there wasn't anything that could get in his way. That's why Dutch was so passionate about getting them all out west any way he could. That passion had saved their lives after all. But with Albert there wasn't any care in the world for his own safety so long as he could snap the perfect picture of a creature that would gladly have him for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And that was something that Arthur had to admire. It was an entirely different kind of bravery, or stupidity as he often told the photographer, than what he'd encountered before.

His journal was unfortunately filled with sidetracked thoughts about both Mason and the animals that were subject to his photography. The photo of the wolves that had been gifted to him tucked away carefully between the pages so it wouldn't be ruined or somehow disappear from his belongings. After all more than one person had a few sticky fingers and as much as he didn't want to admit it they would probably try and sell the photo for a few scraps. Plus part of him just didn't want the others looking at it or asking questions about where he got it. After all he wasn't a man known to be too sentimental, at least on the outside.

They teased and taunted him about being soft but for all they knew he was hard through and through. Though he had to admit that there was a certain sort of softness starting to worm its way into his... well heart. He wasn't unfamiliar with the feeling but he also wasn't going to put a name to it either. There wasn't any need really. So instead of thinking about it, instead of writing about it, instead of curling up and moping about it he was out and about. 

On the back of his current horse a Shire by the name of Fern he could take his mind and body elsewhere. He'd uh, liberated the horse from a work wagon that had just left him sitting there in the hot summer sun. Never a man to let an opportunity pass him by the horse had proven himself time and time again to be a good companion. Something that was hard to come by these days. As he turned Fern to head out of camp he found himself being hailed. **"You're gone a lot from camp these days Morgan, you holdin' out on us?"**

Arthur Morgan really, really regretted getting Micah out of that jail cell on the best of days and this was not his best of days in the slightest. He had things to do and people to see and Micah's ugly mug was not one of them. **"Not now you degenerate."** He tried to urge Fern on so that they could continue to move out of camp but a hand on the horse's saddle stopped their movement. **"Now Arthur, I asked if you were holdin' out on us."** Micah's voice was a little bit tighter that time as the grip on his horse's saddle tightened too. 

It wouldn't be much for them to pull away from him and go on their way but there also wouldn't be anything to stop Micah from getting up on that nag of his either to follow them. **"Ain't you got anything better to do than bother me you sack of shit?"** Arthur kicked at his hand lightly with the muddy bottom of his boot to try and have the degenerate let go of him so they could be on their way. But once Micah got something on his mind he was worse than a gator in a death roll. He wouldn't loosen his jaws till he got what he wanted and most of the time what he wanted was a fight.

**"Come on now Arthur, we all gotta work together here don' we? And that means sharing whatever you're out and about doing while the rest of us bust our asses."** Like Micah was a fine one to talk about doing whatever he wanted to hell with the consequences. **"Micah I would sincerely hate to have to shoot you after wasting dynamite on getting you outta that jail cell."** The most he would hate out of that if he was being honest would be the cleanup and wasting a bullet on a man that would be better hanged than anything. Lord above he wished that Dutch had just let him swing. He was nothing more than a liability in his eyes.

**"Come now Micah, I'm sure Mr. Morgan has excellent reasons for being out and about. After all he's never done wrong by us before. He's always been a shining example of how we should all put the gang first."** Dutch was the only one who could even remotely control Micah and at his words Arthur watched as the man removed his hand from the saddle finally. Fern nervously sidestepped away from the man as he continued to glare. **"I just wanted to know where he seemed to be skipping off to. Between his head being in the clouds or in that journal of his just wanted to make sure he was still in the right place."**

Micah played it off as curiosity but Arthur knew malice when he heard it and when he saw it. Then again, Micah never was the grateful type. **"You heard Dutch now Micah, try not to do anymore house calls or else I might not be back in time to save you with all my wandering."** Without time for anyone else to get a word in else wise Arthur pushed his horse forward into a quick trot so that no one else could stop him. He didn't need any more of a hold up than he already had with so much ground to cover. Also the faster he went the less likely that Micah would have an inclination to follow him.

It wasn't guaranteed to discourage him of course. Not when he was probably still locked onto the fact that Micah wasn't exactly sure what Arthur was doing with his time. Which meant that he would have to take the long way around rather than straight towards his destination. **"Alright boy, just keep moving. You're alright boy."** The long way meant that it would be a hard ride to reaching where Mason was camped today and there actually wasn't any guarantee he would be there. The idea was to make it seem like he'd just 'happened upon' his camp and see what he was working on today.

It wasn't the best of plans but he wasn't really someone who wanted to waste time thinking it out either. After all he'd stumbled on Albert Mason in much more precarious situations on accident so finding his camp didn't seem too out of reach either. Finally sure that he wasn't being trailed Arthur was set back on course. Patting his steed on the neck he would have to reward him for the extra miles they were putting in today. Feeding him extra and giving his coat a good brush would go a long way. It was probably why all of Micah's horses hated him. Seeing one buck him off hard was always the best sort of karma. 

Smoke rose up from between the trees as Arthur and Fern made their way towards them. There wasn't a guarantee that it was Mason but there wasn't anything saying that it wasn't either. And the information he got from Josiah tended to be good, not to mention Josiah tended to know when to keep his mouth shut as well when someone asked for information. Not to mention it wasn't suspicious for him to be looking for information on someone whenever they were supposed to be ears to the ground looking for work regardless. 

**"Mr. Morgan! Fancy seeing you here!"** The voice that called out to him was familiar and warm as Arthur stopped Fern from going any further. It seemed as though Josiah's information had been good once again. He would owe that man a beer or two once he met up with him again. **"What sort of dangerous beast are you tryin' to get a picture of this time Mr. Mason?"** Without waiting for an answer he dismounted and hitched Fern close to the campsite. Though he couldn't really call it a campsite by looking at it. More of a mess made up of what a campsite should contain. 

The fire that had produced the smoke through the trees was really nothing more than a little bit of fire caused by embers hanging on by a thread. Tent haphazardly set up so that a stiff breeze might knock it over at any moment. It was obvious to say the least that once more Albert Mason was out of his element. Regrettably just the way that Arthur liked to find him. **"I seem to have found myself a little short of cash at the moment Mr. Morgan and find myself roughing it as you would say."** As upbeat as Albert seemed to be about the situation there was no way he would make it through the night like this. 

**"Seems to me that you're gonna be in a lick of trouble if you keep this up. What kind of fire is that?"** Arthur had already started making his way through the camp before Albert could say anything to him. There were plenty of ways that he could help out in this situation and luckily none of them had the potential for getting mauled to death. At least not for now. **"A rather poor one it seems as you have noticed. It won't keep through the night I'm afraid."** And yet somehow Mr. Mason still seemed to be cheerful enough through the situation. 

With a shake of his head and an exasperated sigh Arthur knew that he couldn't leave him here like this. He'd end up eaten by a bear if he slept with his food out and about and no fire to ward anything off. It was for his own good that he picked up the ax at the edge of the camp. **"I'm figuring you don' even know how to swing this so I might as well give it ago."** There were a few logs piled here and there on the edge of the site, some of them obviously half chopped as he gathered them up. Pathetic. 

**"Watch and learn Mr. Mason, I won' always be around to take care of your chores for you."** He set his hat to the side as he began to chop the wood in front of him. Luckily there was a sturdy enough stump to set it on as he swung the ax down hard. It had been a long time since his duties included chopping up fire wood but his body hadn't forgotten the exercise in the slightest. Albert watched, as instructed, though less likely to learn how to do it for himself and just simply to watch the man in action. 

Most of his time was spent watching dangerous beasts in nature that were close to being hunted out to extinction. But thinking on it men like Arthur Morgan were just as likely to be going down the same path. Dangerous men who lived on the outside. Men who still had golden hearts underneath the dirt and grime they accumulated by just trying to survive. He held no pretenses that there were things that Mr. Morgan had done that would make a civilized man shudder and the law come down upon him with the full fury of it's hammer. 

But while Arthur had compared Micah to the dying alligator Albert would compare Mr. Morgan instead to the endangered wolf. Beautiful to look at, dangerous and cunning. Even if Arthur didn't consider himself particularly intelligent there was a smartness about him that Albert couldn't deny and that had saved him on many accounts. That was why getting him the photo of the wolves had been so important. There were many things in this wild world that he was unaware of and Arthur had been there to fill in the gaps for him ever so kindly. 

Without him he would have been some sort of beasts lunch. Not to say he probably didn't deserve it for stepping into their space but it was nice to know that he could continue to take photographs for the foreseeable future. All thanks to a Mr. Arthur Morgan. It wasn't until Arthur put the ax down did Albert realize that his staring might make the man uncomfortable. Sure Arthur had told him to learn from it but he probably wasn't seriously expecting him to. It was then that he realized he didn't exactly have any compensation to offer him either. 

**"I appreciate all you're doing Mr. Morgan but I'm afraid I'm lacking in the materials to be a good... host."** His food was limited to a few portions of crackers that he had brought along, the scraps of meat left over from just what he had used from bait and probably not fit for human consumption. Living outside of the towns was somewhat foreign to him. But Albert had expected to run into monetary problems every once in awhile. It was inevitable. He hadn't expected someone else to be inconvenienced because of it. 

Arthur bit both his tongue figuratively and his lip literally when he heard that Albert didn't actually have any real food while out here 'roughing it'. He was sure that the man could probably hunt down some sort of animal but the shooting he usually did was with a camera rather than a bow. And what was he supposed to let him do? Starve? Regardless of the fact that he would probably only be out here a night or two the soft spot inside him was pressed upon hearing it. **"I can' keep babysitting you like this Mr. Mason."** But even as he said it he was already heading towards Fern to grab his bow. 

**"You work on getting that fire alive 'n I'll be back soon. That is if you don' have a problem with eating something I can hunt down."** He knew that if it wasn't endangered or whatever that Albert didn't seem to have a problem with it being on the menu. That apparently meant that anything that could eat them they shouldn't try and take a bite out of. After all that was Albert's entire project documenting the wilder beasts of nature. **"I assure you Mr. Morgan I'll be grateful for anything you bring back, I don't want to cause you any more trouble but I seem to be sticking my nose into it don't I?"**

But he wouldn't mind knowing that Arthur would be coming back. Usually after he gave him a hand he would be riding off into the sunset. But this time he would be coming back if not for a moment more. **"You can make it up to me by tellin' me all about some new animal that'll probably try and eat us alive when we go to take a picture of it."** As he headed off, Arthur swallowed the rest of his words realizing that he had all but agreed to help the man once more. Albert all but keeled over realizing that yet again they would be working together... And that he needed to figure out what exactly he would be photographing next for the occasion. 


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur wasn't planning on going far from Mason's camp. After all the further he wandered off the longer it would take him to get back to finish cleaning up that pathetic camp. It wasn't like Albert would be using the camp for long from the looks of it if the man could help it. But Arthur couldn't help but think that if he didn't fix it up there wouldn't be anymore photographs from the man. The photographs of course being the only thing he was interested in... The only thing. But clearing his mind he tracked through the woods quietly, hoping that the sound of chopping wood hadn't completely scared away anything edible in this place.

He also trusted that maybe Albert would be able to get the fire started a bit more in proper. Stopping his stalking he leaned down like Charles had taught him to, looking at the ground for any sort of prints he might be able to distinguish from the rest of the ground. Broken branches told him that something bigger than a bunny rabbit had been through there. It seemed like ages ago that he had picked up a bow without the slightest idea of what he was supposed to be doing with it. But now he felt comfortable and even a little bit confident in his ability to put dinner on the table. 

After all it seemed like not a lot of other people in camp felt like going out and hunting. Maybe that was why Pearson was always hounding him... Because he was the only dumb ass who'd been willing to go out to begin with out of some of the other lazy slags that hung around camp. Instead of planning robberies that would probably go wrong they should have been a little more willing to work on camp. But those thoughts carried him forward until he saw movement in the brush. A tail flicking and ears turning towards him as he nearly stepped down on one too many leaves that would send the doe running.

Carefully and hopefully silently he pulled the bow to attention and took his shot at the deer. The thunk of the arrow hitting the body, and then the thump of the body hitting the ground, sent the rest of the herd scattered through the woods. But Arthur had gotten what he wanted out of the venture already. He made quick work of the breaking down of the deer, splattering blood a little more than he normally would if he was being careful. Quickness was what this was about though rather than being neat. Though the worry that the blood might draw a predator or two wandered through his mind.

But perhaps what was left of the corpse of the deer would draw them away from Albert's camp. That was the best he could hope for as he made his way back towards the fire. Already he could tell that it was a little bit healthier as he approached it. No longer just a small ember billowing smoke it crackled properly as a real fire should. **"At least you ain' about to set the forest on fire now with a baby fire that could blow away at any moment."** Albert jumped as Arthur spoke, not expecting him back quite so soon it seemed. **"You're bloody... Did you have trouble?"**

The concern in Mason's voice tugged at his soft spot a bit as Arthur unloaded some of the meat to be cooked over the fire. **"Nah, this ain't my blood."** But he didn't want to elaborate much further. What if Albert decided that a deer was too precious to kill or something? As far as Arthur knew the things weren't anywhere near endangered. The damn things ran rampant over the countryside and ate everything they could get themselves into. If anything he was doing something of a service to the farmers who were trying to make a living here and there.

Albert seemed relieved enough that the blood didn't belong to Arthur. That probably would have complicated things just a little bit. **"I got the fire going and cleaned up just a little bit. I'm worried about the tent yet still though."** It was true that the tent still leaned a bit dangerously to the side even if the rest of the camp looked a little bit better. It would suffice at least for the night. **"I'll take care of the tent if you can get cooking."** He pulled out the meat he'd wrapped in the canvas for him and tossed the slightly bloody package to Albert.

Arthur was a bit surprised when the man didn't flinch upon catching it. Though thinking back on it Albert worked a lot with meat trying to lure in those animals of his. He would have to give him just a bit more credit he supposed. **"I'm not the best cook but I can assure you it will be far better than anything I try to do with that tent."** Leaving him to it Arthur moved to the mess that was the tent. Rope went every which way and knotted in strange places making it nearly impossible to see how it was actually standing. Probably by some sort of miracle if he wasn't mistaken. 

**"I don' think I'll ever trust you with any sort of rope tying duties after this Mr. Mason. You made a huge mess outta this."** Finally with enough poking and prodding the entire thing fell to the ground and Arthur felt like he could start on it properly. It took him far longer than it would have if someone hadn't made a mess out of it and by the time he had the tent erected the meat was finished with Albert waiting patiently on him. Once again watching him as he worked. Not that Arthur really noticed when he was concentrated on trying to undo knots that made absolutely no sense in a rope that deserved better.

With a satisfied grunt he pulled away from the much more stable shelter and wiped some of the sweat off of his brow. **"I dare say you'll make it through a night or two now Mr. Mason."** He'd been out here for far too long already. This was supposed to just be a pop in and pop out visit to see Albert Mason and more than half the day was gone. Though he supposed his detours getting here hadn't helped anything either. **"I can't thank you enough for your help Mr. Mason, please, sit and have a meal with me. It would be remiss of me if you wouldn't."** Arthur was torn when looking at Albert's pleading eyes. 

On one hand he would have loved nothing more than to sit down and have a meal with him. On the other hand he would still need to bring back some food for the camp to make up for the fact that he was already covered in blood. The last thing he needed was Micah questioning him for that too. No one would believe that he'd been killing just for fun and he really didn't want them to either. But of course the soft spot won for just a moment. **"I can' stay long but I'll have a bite or two."**

Sitting down on the hard ground next to but not too close to Albert he grabbed what was handed to him on a simple cookware plate. At least he was smart enough to have his own cookware for this sort of thing. **"I really do appreciate everything you've done for me Mr. Morgan. On my own at this rate I would probably have been eaten in the night."** Albert felt as though he was repeating himself over and over with his thanks but he wasn't sure what else to say. **"So you've said, you shouldn't sell yourself short on cooking up a meal on a campfire at least."**

Another surprise for Arthur was that it didn't taste awful. Better than some of the stew that got passed around at camp on some days. They really needed to rethink that whole 'everybody takes a turn at cooking' thing when some of them had no business going near the cooking pot. But telling Dutch that when Mr. Pearson was constantly complaining about other people not pulling their weight was impossible. One of these days it would be his own misfortune to have to put together a stew and he'd be sure to make them regret it. 

**"I might be hapless dealing with the wilderness but every man should know how to cook. It's an important skill after all."** Key to survival if you were a man like Albert Mason. It wasn't practical to go to the saloon every evening for a meal and with the way he lived he was extremely unlikely to take a wife. For all his traveling and peculiarities he had the feeling that it wouldn't be practical for him to subject an honest woman to that sort of life. It would probably be to Albert's surprise that both him and Arthur had the same sort of ideals in that manner.

He hurried when he ate not wanting to stick around for too long. But he also hoped that he wasn't being rude to the gentleman who had offered it to him... Even though he'd fixed his camp for him. **"As much as your company is... appreciated Mr. Mason I better be fixing to move on."** Standing he brushed the dirt off of his pants and gave a whistle. Fern had wandered off just a bit when he'd been gone hunting and the sound of the horse getting closer made him feel a bit more relieved. He wasn't sure what he would do if something happened to his horse.

**"I appreciate your help Mr. Morgan, I don't know what I would do without you always stepping in like this."** Though Arthur figured that if he hadn't been constantly checking in on the man he probably would have been eaten by wolves. He hadn't done a lot of good things in his life but stumbling on Mr. Mason had definitely racked up his count of good deeds nonetheless. **"You keep sayin' that yeah. Now don' you go get eaten before I run into you again."** Though both men had a feeling that he would probably arrive just in the knick of time to save him again even if that did happen.

Without much more hesitation or goodbyes Arthur swung up on the large shire horse and urged him forward, not wanting to draw this out any longer than he had to. After all it wasn't the last time he would see him. **"Goodbye Mr. Morgan!"** Instead of saying anything back Arthur just gave a simple wave as Albert stared at his back. Watching him go as he had done many times before now. But this time it stung just a little bit more. It was strange to think that these feelings had started back when a rugged and probably dangerous man came a wandering upon him...

But now Arthur had other things to worry about. Mainly finding something to bring back to camp so that his trip out would be 'justified' in Micah's eyes. He was a fine one to talk though with shooting up a town and causing more trouble than he was worth on the best of days. Arthur was tired of thinking about his worst of days at that. Once he was sure that he was out of range for Albert he went to adjust his hat, only to realize that he'd managed to forget it at his camp. **"Shit."** He'd liked that hat. But there was no way he would go back for it now.

He would simply have to go without so that he wouldn't be a bother about it anymore. It wouldn't be too hard to find another hat after all, they were all over the ground whenever a brawl ended. Pushing Fern forward again he kept an eye towards the ground to try and find a track or two to cover for the blood that had set into his clothes a bit. It didn't take him long with the woods being thick and people being scarce. It was a good place for Mason to be camped up without the worry of some roughnecks coming along. He hoped.

Even away from him Arthur found his mind lingering on Albert. Meaning only bad things for him to be completely honest. He needed to keep his mind focused on making enough money for the camp to keep moving. Dutch wouldn't take too kindly to this entire thing being on his mind when the good of the gang was at risk. So he let his mind focus instead on the thunk once more of an arrow on the body of a deer. On collecting it and hauling it up onto Fern's back so that he could lug it into camp.

With Micah on his back he needed to focus on what needed to be done. Hopefully, just hopefully, by some miracle there would be an accident that took care of Micah before he ended up bringing everything crashing down around them. Again. He was welcomed back to camp with hails of 'Hello Arthur' and people commenting on the fact that he ended up bringing something back. A few of the ladies commenting on the fact that he looked like he'd murdered a man. 

But he wasn't really concerned with that so long as the truth wasn't brought forward. Micah gave him the side eye before approaching him at the cook station, watching him help break down the deer so it got done quickly and without Pearson bellyaching at him. **"That's an awful lot of blood for just one deer Morgan. Though I'm not surprised since it took you all damned day just to find one. Makes sense that things would get a little messy."** Arthur sighed and tried to ignore Micah like one of the flies that gathered around a horses ass.

**"I see you're missing your hat too... I didn' realize struggling with a deer was that much of an effort."** Arthur didn't stop cutting on the meat when he felt his gut drop just a little bit. Micah might have been as nasty as a gator but he was far too observant for his own liking. Especially when he was wanting to pick a fight. **"For starters that's because you ain' never bothered going hunting. Second off I just figured that hat ain't suiting me as well as another one could so I didn' mind letting it go. Unlike you I don' have a taste for rags."** Never mind the fact that the hat was practically new. 

Now he'd never be able to bring it back from Mason's camp though. Supposing that Mason even kept it anyways. **"If you ain't got nothing better to do Micah then why don' you go dunk your head in the lake for a bit to simmer down some?"** It might make the smell a little bit better in the air as well considering Micah wasn't exactly someone for personal hygiene. **"If you don' mind I'm gonna go wash up. Some of us like to be presentable when dinner is on the table."** Finished with his work Arthur tried to disengage from the man and move on, hoping to be done with Micah for a time.

Of course that didn't mean other people weren't going to wander up and start giving him a headache. **"Arthur my boy! If you have a moment I have some business that only you can take care of. Not right away mind you but soon if you will."** Dutch approached him as Arthur was wiping the blood down off of his arms to try and cool himself down. After all he'd done a bit more physical labor today than he'd planned on and the sweat building up on him mixed with dirt had almost made something of a mud coating where the skin had been exposed. Mixing that with the deer blood made for a particularly uncomfortable experience. 

**"What can I do you for Dutch?"** After all, no one could say no to Dutch whenever he got to chasing a wild idea. Not when he'd managed to lead them this far, mishaps aside. Mishaps that he was still not entirely sure about now that he got to thinking on it...


	3. what i've lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which arthur has to make a choice and might accidentally be giving micah the weapon he needs against him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw animal death! sorry its been so long since i've updated this but at least i finally did!

It had taken some time for them to finish out the job that Dutch had wanted them to scatter off to do. No one had gotten killed this time but Arthur would be damned if some of them hadn't been chased by that pale horse the entire way out of town. It wasn't unusual for them in the past to get run out but it seemed like the exact opposite of what they should be doing right now. With Pinkerton on their trail it was the worst of ideas to keep getting caught up in these massive get rich quick schemes. One of these days someone wasn't going to come out of it alive and Arthur was worried it would be one of the ladies of their group. Or the kid.

It wasn't to say that Arthur was out here looking for Albert. Though there was nothing to say that his mind wasn't wandering that way either. After everything that had happened the stress had been building up. And there was always something about listening to Albert ramble about this and about that to make all that stress sort of just melt away. He could just his brain off and enjoy the fact that there was nothing else he needed to worry about. Except maybe some large critter that decided to come after Mr. Mason. Especially since he had a penchant for it. 

If he was being so bold he would say that it made his heart flutter just a little bit when he got the gratuitous thanks from the other man. That's if he was being so bold. He knew the feelings of butterflies and the pitter-patter of his heart weren't exactly normal behavior. But he also knew that he wasn't the first fellow to feel this way for another either. As Fern moved on he leaned against the sturdy horse's neck, his head resting on the Shire as he tried to sort out his thoughts. 

Mr. Mason was a man from the city, a man who had a future ahead of him and the last thing Arthur wanted to do was get him tangled up in this life of his. There was no place for Mr. Mason in the caravan while they were still on the run and with Dutch at the helm, as much as he wanted to believe otherwise, Arthur felt like there wouldn't be any rest for them. Not when the jobs kept getting bigger and bigger. The risks kept getting higher and higher. Dutch constantly said that they needed more money but, where was the money going that they raised?

He had to have put thousands of dollars into that box yet somehow that wasn't enough yet? Just what was going on with it? Thinking about it made his head, and his heart, hurt. He wanted to trust the man he had trusted all of his life. Any thoughts of doing otherwise caused a conflict inside him that he simply didn't want to deal with. If push came to shove Dutch would know what to do when the time came down to it. At least that was what he could hope for. 

Fern's gentle gait and the swaying as they walked very nearly lured Arthur to sleep as he practically sprawled out over the horse. It wasn't until he heard slightly raised voices did he start to come out of his stupor. Especially since the voices seemed to sound familiar. One of them more unpleasantly familiar than the other. He knew that unpleasant voice and that was more than enough to make Arthur jerk upright immediately. **"C'mon now! That ain' very neighborly of ya mister. Now han' over that fancy picture taker."** Micah.

Drawing his pistol without any hesitation he had been looking for an excuse to shoot the man. Though it probably wouldn't come to that just yet. All he needed to do was scare him off a little bit. Because Arthur only knew one person that carried around a camera and he was about to be damned if he let Micah bother Mr. Mason like this. **"I... I can't do that I'm afraid! This camera is my livelihood, it's all I have! I would be happy to help but I can't possibly hand this device over."** Though hearing Mr. Mason's voice pleading like that made Arthur consider just putting lead between Micah's eyes.

Arthur Morgan was a dangerous man on a normal day but when he began to feel the butterflies being fanned by the rage of how much he hated Micah it was hard to keep his temper in check. Especially when he saw the pistol hanging loosely in the disgusting frog of a man's hand. He knew that Micah wouldn't hesitate to just shoot Albert if he really wanted the camera. **"Micah! What the hell are you doing out here?"** Where Micah's pistol was just loosely in his hand, Arthur had a firm grip on his and made sure to show to the other man that he meant business.

Relief flickered on Albert's face when Arthur finally appeared. His mind racing with thoughts that once again this roving man would be his savior. Though this time from something far more fearsome than any of the wild animals he had been face to face with. He was meaner than a gator and Arthur wasn't about to give him a chance to taste blood in the water right now. Not when Albert was here and in danger. **"Wellllllll Arthur! Look what the cat dragged in! 'm just here to make a little bit o' cash like Dutch said. That little box'll sell good don' ya think?"** Using the hand that held his pistol to gesture towards the camera both of them saw Albert flinch.

But while Arthur felt worry the only thing that Micah felt was a bit of satisfaction. He was a sadistic bastard and he loved when his prey was afraid. The gator grin that crept along his face let Arthur know that he didn't have a lot of time to act and before long there wouldn't be anything he could do to talk Micah down from whatever action he wanted to take. Not that talking ever really did a lot anyways with him. Half the time Arthur was pretty sure he couldn't understand English. Slowly he urged Fern forward a little bit while Micah was distracted.

**"You ain' gonna get nothing for something nobody knows how to work. There ain' no demand for it."** Arthur hoped that since Micah had no idea how a camera worked he would believe that pretty much no one else did either. **"It's not like you can walk in and sell it to a normal fence."** Slowly he kept urging his horse forward and hoped that Albert wouldn't move or set Micah off. Just the smallest twitch or sign of weakness from one of his victims would be enough for him to pull the trigger. Though he had also pulled the trigger for less.

There was no way to tell how this would go down, not with someone as unpredictable as Micah. Arthur could feel his heart leaping into his throat. Blood pounding in his ears as his mouth dried out from nerves, stress and anger. All he wanted was to get Albert out of this alive and if he had to tell the other man that he could never ever see him again for his safety then he would do it. There was no way that Micah had found him on his own. Not when his tracking skills were next to nothing and most of the time he was to drunk to climb up the mountain on his own.

**"C'mon now Arthur, you can' believe that. Besides, you ain' never been soft enough for some fella to be willing to stop a little bit of cash flow. I wonder what Dutch'll say about that?"** Arthur knew that this was about more than just the money. This was personal. Especially bringing in and trying to appeal to the part of Arthur that bowed down to Dutch and hung on his every word. But with him seeing red that part of him was shoved down below anything else. There were more important things on hand than about how Dutch would feel about losing out on money from a camera sale. 

**"But I guess you're right like always ain' ya? Dutch's golden boy ain' ever done nothing wrong."** Just when it seemed like Micah would maybe give up all of a sudden it felt as though everything was moving in slow motion. As soon as Arthur saw him raising the gun once more he urged Fern forward without thinking, leaping off of the horse to tackle Albert to the ground. If he tackled Micah then he could possibly still get a shot off but at least this way it would be nearly impossible for him to hit Mr. Mason. The shot went off and Arthur expected to feel a bullet impale his body.

Instead though he heard the sickening sound of Fern screaming. What he had hoped would only be a distraction for Micah had ended up putting his traveling companion right in the line of fire. The screaming echoed in his ears as Micah's disgusting laughter roared over it. How someone could laugh louder than a horse in pain Arthur hadn't the foggiest of ideas. **"Here Arthur, lemme take care o' that for ya."** A couple more shots went off and the heavy Shire horse fell to the ground hard. The screaming stopped but still Arthur could hear Fern struggling to kick and breath. Fighting till his last moments it seemed.

**"I'll see ya 'round Morgan! Be waitin' for ya at camp!"** Micah was still laughing as he mounted his own horse and began to ride away. He had achieved his goal of dealing a blow to his biggest problem and now he knew his real weakness. One that he wasn't going to be able to hide as easily. But Arthur didn't move from his protective stance over Albert until he was sure that Micah had moved on. Swallowing hard as he stared down at the other man. His face growing warm and eyes starting to sting from the tears that were building up.

The bond between a man and his horse was a great thing and Arthur and his bond with Fern was no different. His horse had protected him until the very end and all he could do was grieve. Micah seemed determined to take everything away from him and at this rate he was succeeding. Albert stared up at Arthur from his place on the ground. His own face contorted with a mixture of fear and regret as he realized what had happened. When he realized the choice that Arthur had made in order to save his life. The sacrifice. **"Arthur I..."**

But there wasn't anything that he could say. The devastation and heartbreak on Arthur's face stopped him in his tracks. What could he say to make his pain stop? His heart felt heavy and his stomach felt sick. But it was all he could do to watch Arthur move away from him and towards his horse. Even he knew that there was nothing that could be done to save the beast. Sitting up he watched as Arthur pulled out his pistol once more to finish the task at hand. Fern was suffering and there was nothing more that could be done.

Even if either of them was trained in medical expertise they hadn't the equipment or the space to work on saving the horse. But Albert also saw Arthur's hand quivering. Unable to aim properly at the horse who had been his friend and companion for quite some time now. It wasn't the first time he had to pull the trigger on a horse that was to far gone but between the rage and desperation that was still running through his veins he couldn't track where his hand needed to be.

At least this was something that Albert could help with. Standing shakily he made his way over to Arthur and decided to take a risk. Carefully he stood behind him. **"Arthur..."** Without hesitation he slid his hand over Arthur's eyes, taking away the sight of having to look at the heaving beast on the ground. With his other hand he guided Arthur's pistol. Not wanting to take away the right from him to give his horse rest but still needing to help him with this. His hand on Arthur's helped to steady the shaking. Helped to aim so that the suffering would end.

**"You can let go now."** Tears began to flow from Arthur's eyes, soaking Albert's hand. They were silent. But the loud roar of the pistol cut the silence and finally Fern was at rest. There was no more kicking. No more labored breathing. Finally after Micah's cruelty the horse was free. And so were Arthur's tears. Freely they flowed as Albert removed his hand. The pistol in Arthur's hand dropped to the ground and his shoulders shook with the force of his grief. But Arthur himself made no sound.

Without hesitation Albert pushed his face into Arthur's sturdy back. Finally feeling exactly how broad he was. Though the circumstances now were less than ideal for it. Albert's arms wrapped around the crying cowboy's waist to hold onto him. For the moment Albert didn't care if Mr. Morgan was disgusted with him. He didn't care if he hated him. Though he was pretty sure that losing his horse was enough of an emotional task. It wasn't until he felt one of Arthur's hands holding on to his own did he truly relax, his own tears beginning to soak the back of Mr. Morgan's shirt.


End file.
